Two drivers have been jailed for killing a mother and her four-year-old daughter in a road race on a Leeds street. Justyna Hulboj, 27, and her daughter Lena Czepczor were fatally struck by a white Audi TT on the A61 Scott Hall Road on January 16 2023, as they walked to nursery.
Drivers sentenced at Leeds Crown Court
Hardeep Bhachu, who drove the Audi, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Jasskamal Riyat, driving a black BMW 135i closely behind, denied racing but was convicted of the same offences following a trial earlier this year.
At Leeds Crown Court on Monday, Judge Ray Singh sentenced Bhachu to 12 years and Riyat to 16 years in prison.
Judge's condemnation
The judge told the pair: "A road is not a racetrack. A powerful car is not an invitation to test its limits on a public road. The consequences of competitive driving at extreme speed can be, and in this case were, irreversible. Two people died. One of them was a 27-year-old mother, the other was her four-year-old daughter. They had done nothing wrong; they were simply walking to school."
Judge Singh added: "Two families must now live with a loss that can never be undone. Justyna and Lena should have gone to school that morning. They should have returned home. They should have continued with their lives. Instead, their lives ended on a pavement because two drivers chose to drive in a manner which placed speed and competition above the safety of everyone around them. Nothing this court can do can restore those lives."
